Bulgogi (Korean BBQ)

One of my favorite parts about fall is apple and pear picking, which is something I had never experienced before I came to Maine. 

Pears are a delicious fruit of the cold seasons, but they are often outshined by apples in savory dishes. This week I am sharing with you my Bulgogi (Korean barbecue) recipe, which uses pears as its key ingredient. This recipe is adapted from my Korean mother’s recipe that I grew up with. It’s very simple but very delicious. So let’s get started!

You will need:

Serves 2 to 3 people
Ingredients:

1 lb. thin steak

1 Bosc pear

1 large onion

1 carrot 

3 cloves garlic

2 scallions (plus more for garnish) 

1/2 cup beer

2 T soy sauce

1 T ginger

1 T brown sugar

1 T granulated sugar 

1 T sesame oil

1 t sesame seeds (plus more for garnish) 

1/8 t black pepper 

pinch salt

directions:

Start by slicing the steak into very thin, bite-size pieces. Try to get the ones that have a little marbling with some nice fat on them. The bulgogi will be juicier that way.

Peel and core the pear and roughly chop it up along with half of the onion into chunks. Use a food processor or a blender to puree the chopped-up pear, onion, ginger and garlic. Julienne (cut into strips) the scallion, carrot and the remaining half of the onion.The pear will not only naturally sweeten the meat, but it also tenderizes the meat as it marinates. Toss the steak, onion, pear puree and the julienned vegetables and mix in the rest of the listed ingredients.

Beer is not a traditional ingredient that you will find in bulgogis. this is a trick I learned from my mom. It the out come of the bulgogi will be even more juicy and tender plus it give the meat a nice aroma after it's marinated. Try to use a light beer, any cheap est beer you can find would work great in here. Now cover it up and keep in the refrigerator for at least for to six hours but preferably
overnight.

Use a large non-stick skillet on high heat. Spread the marinated meat evenly along with any excess liquid in the skillet. Let it cook for 8 to 10 minutes. You don’t want to stir it or the juice will evaporate as it cooks. Just let it go and keep an eye on it. When most of the liquid has been cooked and the meat looks golden brown, your bulgogi is ready.

One of the traditional ways to eat bulgogi is to wrap it up in perilla leaf leaves or lettuce along with chili paste, rice and kimchi. Perilla grows really well here in our front yard, but the frost unfortunately wiped it all out last weekend! You can also use iceberg lettuce if you don’t have any perilla.

Serve it over a hot bowl of rice along with some kimchi and other pan chan (side dishes) and enjoy!

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Deep Fried Pumpkin Swirl Steamed Buns with Curry Fried Pork Cutlets

Pumpkin is an iconic ingredient for the fall and it’s great for both sweet and savory dishes. Another very versatile food I love making is Chinese steamed buns. I’ve always said that the steamed bun is like a blank canvas — it’s great just on its own but you can also get really creative with it. This week I’d like to share with you my sweet and spicy curry fried pork cutlet in a deep fried pumpkin swirl steamed bun sandwich.

You will need:

Ingredients (serves 4-5 people)

For white steamed buns:

2 cups bread flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp instant dried yeast

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup lukewarm water

For the pumpkin 

steamed buns:

2 cups bread flour

1-1/2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp instant dried yeast

1 T vegetable oil

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup lukewarm water

For the curry fried pork cutlet marinade:

4 - 5 pork cutlets

1 clove garlic

1 scallion

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp curry powder

1-1/2 tsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp cold water

2 tsp corn starch

pinch white pepper

pinch dried pepper flakes

For the pumpkin curry chili paste:

1Tbsp vegetable oil 

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ginger

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp curry powder

2 Tbsp pumpkin puree

1 Tbsp water

1 tsp sambal chili paste

1 Tbsp honey

1 wedge of lime

For the toppings:

handful of baked kale chips

fried eggs

cilantro

For frying:

3 cups vegetable oil 

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions:
Start by marinating the pork cutlets. Dice garlic and scallion into small pieces and mix in rest of the marinade ingredients. Coat the pork cutlets evenly, cover it up and let it marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Mix all the ingredients for the white steamed buns. Kneed for five minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Lightly coat the dough with vegetable oil and cover it so it doesn’t dry out. Do the same with the pumpkin steamed bun dough. I used canned pumpkin puree for this recipe but you can also make your own pumpkin puree. Depending on how moist your pumpkin is, you may need to add in more water or more flour. The dough should have a slightly tacky consistency. Let both doughs proof in a warm and draft-free place for an hour until they double in size.

Pumpkin curry chili paste: In a saucepan heat up the vegetable oil on medium heat. Toss in the minced garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds. Then whisk in soy sauce, curry powder, water, pumpkin puree and sambal chili paste. Cook for one to two minutes and whisk in the honey until combined. Turn off the heat and squeeze in lime juice. Let it cool to room temperature. 

Once doughs have doubled in size, roll each out into flat rectangle shapes.

Place one dough on top of the other.

Roll the dough into a log shape starting from the bottom to top.

Cut the log into eight pieces for sandwich buns or twelve small dinner roll buns.

Cover the buns up and let them rest for 15 minute.

Steam buns on high heat for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes turn off the heat and crack open the lid of the steamer and let the buns sit for five minutes before taking them out. 

The buns will keep in the refrigerator for two weeks and in the freezer for up to three months and microwave up nicely. These buns are delicious just as it is. you can eat them plain or make sandwich with them at this point. But I want to take it to the next level by frying them and get a nice crispy. Heat the vegetable oil to 350 F and fry place the bun in the oil in batches. Fry each for 15 to 20 seconds on both sides, just until it's golden brown and crispy. Let it cool on a cooling rack.

Meanwhile, mix flour and panko bread crumbs together and bread the marinated pork cutlets in the mixture. Fry the pork cutlets in the oil for four to five minutes on each side until golden brown.

o make the kale chips, preheat the oven to 350 F. Cut up a handful of fresh kale to bite sizes. Spread them on a baking tray, drizzle a little olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne for extra heat. Bake for 10 minutes. Fry up some eggs to make your sandwich extra yummy.

Slice the steamed bun in half horizontally, but not all of the way. Assemble the pork, kale, fried egg and fresh cilantro in the bun, then spoon a generous amount of the pumpkin curry chili paste in the sandwich .

 

This is my ultimate fall comfort food. I hope you’ll enjoy this pumpkin recipe with an Asian twist.

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